/<■/<*  3> 


A 

CENTENARY 

CATECHISM 


THE  BOARD  OF  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS 

of  the 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
58  E.  Washington  St. 

Chicago,  Ill. 


A  Centenary  Catechism  for  the 
Sunday  School 

LESSON  I 


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7.  Question : 


What  is  a  Centenary? 

A  Centenary  is  a  hundredth  anniversary,  or 
its  celebration. 

What  anniversary  is  marked  by  the  Meth¬ 
odist  Missionary  Centenary? 

The  Methodist  Missionary  Centenary  marks 
the  anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the 
“Missionary  and  Bible  Society  of  the  Meth¬ 
odist  Episcopal  Church.” 

When  was  this  Society  organized? 

This  Society  was  organized  in  the  month  of 
April,  1819. 

Was  this  the  first  time  that  Methodists  had 
shared  in  missionary  work? 

No.  Seven  years  before  the  organization  of 
the  “Missionary  and  Bible  Society,”  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Conference  had  authorized  the  raising 
of  money  for  missionary  purposes,  and  even 
before  this,  Methodists  had  contributed  to 
missionary  work  carried  on  by  other  organ¬ 
izations. 

Was  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  the 
first  church  in  the  United  States  to  organize 
its  missionary  work? 

No.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
the  third  church  to  organize  its  missionary 
work.  The  American  Board  (Congrega¬ 
tional)  was  organized  in  1810  and  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Union  in  1814. 

Who  was  John  Stewart? 

John  Stewart  was  a  Negro  who  was  con¬ 
verted  in  a  Methodist  meeting  in  the  year 
1816,  in  Marietta,  Ohio,  and  who  did  an  im¬ 
portant  missionary  work  among  the  Wyan¬ 
dotte  Indians  in  Upper  Sandusky. 

Was  John  Stewart  the  first  missionary  sent 
out  by  the  “Missionary  and  Bible  Society  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church”? 

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No.  It  was  the  work  of  John  Stewart  which 
first  attracted  attention  and  led  to  the  organ¬ 
ization  of  that  Society. 

How  was  John  Stewart  able  to  preach  to  the 
Wyandotte  Indians? 

John  Stewart  was  able  to  preach  to  the  Wy¬ 
andotte  Indians  through  the  assistance  of  an¬ 
other  colored  man  who  understood  the  Indian 
language  and  acted  as  interpreter. 

How  many  Wyandotte  Indians  came  out  to 
hear  Stewart  preach? 

The  first  day  only  one  old  squaw  attended  the 
service,  the  next  day  an  old  man  also  came, 
the  third  day  eight  or  ten  Indians  were  in 
attendance,  and  very  soon  they  were  coming 
in  large  numbers. 

How  long  did  John  Stewart  work  and  when 
did  he  die? 

John  Stewart  died  December  17,  1823,  at  the 
age  of  37,  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  mission¬ 
ary  labors. 

LESSON  II 

What  change  was  soon  made  in  the  name 
and  work  of  the  “Missionary  and  Bible  Soci¬ 
ety  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church”? 

The  words  “and  Bible”  were  omitted  and  the 
Bible  program  was  discontinued. 

Why  was  this  done? 

This  was  done  so  that  the  American  Bible 
Society  might  have  a  free  field  for  its  Bible 
work. 

How  much  money  was  raised  for  the  work 
of  the  “Missionary  and  Bible  Society”  during 
the  first  year  of  its  history? 

There  was  raised  for  the  work  of  the  “Mis¬ 
sionary  and  Bible  Society”  during  the  first 
year  of  its  history,  $823.04. 

How  much  of  this  was  expended? 

There  was  expended  during  the  first  year, 
$85.76. 

How  much  money  did  the  Methodist  Episco¬ 
pal  Church  raise  for  home  and  foreign  mis¬ 
sionary  work  last  year  (1917)? 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  raised  last 
year  for  home  and  foreign  missions  approx¬ 
imately  $5,300,000. 

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Where  did  the  new  Missionary  Society  do  its 
first  work? 

The  first  missionary  of  the  new  Society  was 
sent  to  work  among  the  French  of  Louisiana. 

Who  was  the  first  missionary  of  the  new 
Society? 

The  first  missionary  of  the  new  Society  was 
the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Brown,  sent  to  Louisiana 
in  1820. 

Among  what  other  groups  did  the  new  Soci¬ 
ety  work? 

The  new  Society  worked  also  among  the 
Negroes  of  the  southern  plantations,  among 
the  Welch  in  New  York  City  and  among  the 
Aborigines  of  the  wilderness. 

What  great  Methodist  had  previously  done 
missionary  work  among  the  Indians  of  North 
America? 

John  Wesley  had  begun  the  evangelization 
of  the  Indians  in  Georgia  almost  a  century 
before  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Brown  began  his 
work. 

Was  the  new  Society  at  first  exclusively 
home  missionary  in  character? 

The  work  of  the  Society  was  at  first  entirely 
confined  to  North  America,  but  the  directors 
very  soon  began  to  plan  for  work  across  the 
seas. 


LESSON  III 

Was  the  path  of  the  new  Society  during  the 
first  year  of  its  existence  a  smooth  one? 

No.  At  times  the  outlook  was  very  discour¬ 
aging.  Board  members  resigned  and  others 
would  not  attend  the  Board  meetings.  The 
Society  would  have  died  had  it  not  been  for 
a  few  faithful  ones. 

What  remark  did  the  Rev.  Joshua  Soule 
make  at  one  meeting  when  few  were  present 
and  the  whole  outlook  was  gloomy? 

The  Rev.  Joshua  Soule  said,  “The  time  will 
come  when  every  man  who  assisted  in  the 
organization  of  this  Society  and  persevered 
in  the  undertaking  will  consider  it  one  of  the 
most  honorable  periods  of  his  life.” 

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What  event  happened  in  May,  1820,  which 
had  an  important  effect  upon  the  new  Soci¬ 
ety? 

The  General  Conference  met  in  Baltimore 
and  formally  approved  the  “Missionary  and 
Bible  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.” 

What  further  declaration  did  this  Conference 
make? 

This  Conference  declared,  “Methodism  itself 
is  a  missionary  system.  Yield  the  missionary 
spirit  and  you  will  yield  the  very  lifeblood 
of  the  cause.” 

How  did  the  Missionary  Society  prosper 
financially  during  the  early  years  of  its  his¬ 
tory? 

During  the  first  ten  years  of  its  history  the 
contributions  to  the  Missionary  Society  ex¬ 
ceeded  the  expenditures.  A  balance  was  al¬ 
ways  reported  in  the  treasury. 

How  did  the  Civil  War  affect  the  gifts  to 
missions? 

Missionary  gifts  increased  with  great  rapid¬ 
ity  during  the  Civil  War  until  in  1867  it  was 
possible  for  the  Board  to  appropriate  more 
than  one  million  dollars  for  missionary  work. 

What  important  event  happened  in  1907? 

The  Missionary  Society  was  divided  into  two 
separate  and  distinct  Boards.  The  foreign 
work  was  placed  under  the  Board  of  For¬ 
eign  Missions.  The  home  mission  work  was 
united  with  the  work  of  the  Board  of  Church 
Extension  and  placed  under  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension. 

Where  are  the  headquarters  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions? 

The  headquarters  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  are  at  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 
City. 

Where  are  the  headquarters  of  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension? 

The  headquarters  of  the  Board  of  Home  Mis¬ 
sions  and  Church  Extension  are  at  1701  Arch 
Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

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Why  were  these  two  parts  of  the  work 
divided  in  1907? 

They  were  divided  so  that  each  might  be 
handled  more  efficiently. 

LESSON  IV 

When  did  the  Society  organized  in  1819  first 
begin  foreign  missionary  work? 

The  first  foreign  missionary  of  the  new  Soci¬ 
ety  was  sent  out  in  1833. 

Who  was  the  first  foreign  missionary  of  the 
new  Society? 

The  first  foreign  missionary  of  the  new  Soci¬ 
ety  was  Melville  B.  Cox. 

To  what  country  did  Melville  B.  Cox  go? 
Melville  B.  Cox  went  as  a  missionary  to  Li¬ 
beria  in  Africa,  where  a  new  colony  of  freed 
slaves  from  America  had  been  established. 

Did  Cox  organize  the  First  Methodist  Epis¬ 
copal  Church  in  Africa? 

No.  The  first  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  Africa  was  organized  on  shipboard  by 
Negroes  on  the  way  from  the  United  States 
to  Africa — 12  years  before  Melville  B.  Cox 
arrived  in  Africa. 

Does  this  first  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  still  survive? 

This  Church  survives  and  has  several 
branches  to-day. 

Before  sailing  to  Africa  what  famous  conver¬ 
sation  did  Cox  have  with  a  student? 

Cox  said  to  a  student,  “If  I  die  in  Africa  you 
must  come  over  and  write  my  epitaph.” 

“I  will,”  the  young  man  replied,  “but  what 
shall  I  write?” 

“Write,  ‘Let  a  thousand  fall  before  Africa  be 
given  up,’  ”  was  his  grand  response. 

When  did  Cox  reach  Liberia? 

Cox  reached  Monrovia,  the  capital  of  Liberia, 
March  7,  1833. 

How  long  did  Cox  labor  in  Africa? 

Cox  was  in  Africa  less  than  four  months 
when  he  was  stricken  with  the  African  fever 
and  died. 


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Was  he  able  to  accomplish  very  much  dur¬ 
ing  the  short  period  in  which  he  was  per¬ 
mitted  to  labor  in  Africa? 

Cox  accomplished  a  great  deal.  He  preached, 
purchased  a  mission  house,  brought  the  peo¬ 
ple  into  harmony  with  his  plans,  improved 
the  Sunday  Schools,  held  a  camp  meeting, 
visited  the  colonists  in  their  homes,  and 
marked  out  places  for  missionary  occupation. 

Did  other  missionaries  come  to  follow  up  the 
work  of  Melville  B.  Cox? 

Yes.  During  the  years  1833  to  1894,  thirty- 
six  Methodist  Episcopal  missionaries  were 
sent  to  Liberia.  Of  these  eight  died  on  the 
field. 


LESSON  V 

Where  is  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at 
work  in  Africa  to-day? 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  impor¬ 
tant  mission  stations  in  Liberia,  throughout 
Central  Africa  and  in  Northern  Africa. 

What  is  one  of  the  outstanding  religious 
problems  in  Africa  to-day? 

One  of  the  outstanding  problems  in  Africa 
to-day  is  the  rapid  spread  of  the  Mohamme¬ 
dan  religion.  There  are  forty  million  Mo¬ 
hammedans  in  the  northern  part  of  Africa, 
and  they  are  winning  many  of  the  eighty 
million  natives  in  Central  Africa  to  Moham¬ 
medanism  because  the  Christian  Church  has 
not  been  able  to  supply  the  men  and  the 
money  necessary  for  evangelizing  Africa. 

What  was  the  second  foreign  mission  field 
to  be  entered  by  the  Missionary  Society? 

The  second  foreign  mission  field  to  be  en¬ 
tered  by  the  Missionary  Society  was  South 
America — the  work  being  begun  in  Argen¬ 
tina  by  John  Dempster  in  1836. 

In  what  countries  in  South  America  is  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  now  at  work? 
The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  now  at 
work  in  Argentina,  Chile,  Bolivia,  Peru,  Uru¬ 
guay,  and  Panama. 

When  did  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
begin  work  in  China? 


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The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  began  work 
in  China  in  1847. 

For  how  much  of  China  is  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  responsible? 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  respon¬ 
sible  in  China  for  a  territory  with  a  popula¬ 
tion  nearly  as  large  as  that  of  the  United 
States. 

Is  this  territory  adequately  evangelized? 

No.  There  are  thousands  of  towns  and  vil¬ 
lages  in  this  territory  which  have  never  had 
regular  Christian  services. 

What  has  been  one  of  the  distinguishing 
features  of  the  Methodist  work  in  China? 

One  of  the  distinguishing  features  of  the 
Methodist  work  in  China  has  been  the  em¬ 
phasis  on  education. 

Is  there  much  need  of  educational  work  in 
China? 

Yes,  there  is  a  very  great  need.  There  are 
more  than  sixty  million  boys  and  girls  of- 
school  age  growing  up  in  China  without 
schools. 

When  did  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
undertake  work  in  India? 

The  Rev.  William  Butler,  the  first  Metho¬ 
dist  missionary  to  India,  arrived  in  that  coun¬ 
try  in  1856. 

LESSON  VI 

Was  the  work  in  India  easy  or  difficult  in 
those  early  days? 

For  many  years  it  was  very  difficult  to  get  a 
hearing  for  Christianity  in  India  and  con¬ 
verts  were  few.  When  Bishop  Thoburn 
went  to  India  half  a  century  ago,  he  was  told 
that  the  task  of  converting  India  was  like 
attempting  to  empty  the  ocean  with  a  tea¬ 
spoon. 

What  marked  change  has  come  over  the 
situation  in  India  within  recent  years? 

The  natives  of  India  have  been  turning  to 
Christianity  faster  than  we  have  been  able 
to  prepare  them  for  entrance  into  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Church. 


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Has  it  ever  been  necessary  to  refuse  baptism 
to  any  of  the  natives  of  India  who  desired 
entrance  into  the  Christian  Church? 

Last  year  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
refused  to  baptize  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou¬ 
sand  people  in  India  because  there  was  no 
sufficient  missionary  and  pastoral  supervision 
to  prepare  them  for  baptism. 

Are  there  many  Christian  converts  under 
Methodist  care  in  India  to-day? 

There  are  more  Methodists  in  India  to-day 
than  there  were  in  the  entire  United  States 
in  1819  when  missionary  work  was  first  un¬ 
dertaken. 

In  what  other  countries  is  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  doing  foreign  mission 
work? 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  impor¬ 
tant  mission  fields  in  Japan,  Korea,  the  Phil¬ 
ippines,  Malaysia,  Europe,  and  Mexico. 

Does  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  expect 
to  raise  all  the  money  for  its  foreign  mission 
work  in  the  United  States? 

No.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in¬ 
sists  that  all  converts  contribute  to  the  work 
in  the  fields  in  which  they  live.  In  many 
cases  the  amount  given  on  the  field  far  ex¬ 
ceeds  the  amount  appropriated  by  the  Board. 

Does  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ex¬ 
pect  to  send  out  enough  missionaries  to  evan¬ 
gelize  that  part  of  the  world  for  which  it  is 
responsible? 

No.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is 
training  native  evangelists  who  go  out  to 
preach  to  their  own  people.  It  requires  many 
foreign  missionaries,  however,  merely  to  ed¬ 
ucate  and  train  native  leaders  in  sufficient 
numbers  to  do  the  work  of  evangelization. 

Does  that  mean  that  the  missionaries  who  go 
out  from  America  do  not  do  evangelistic 
work? 

No.  The  missionaries  from  America  do  much 
evangelistic  work  but  they  are  multiplying 
their  own  efforts  by  the  training  of  these 
native  leaders. 

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Does  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  do 
any  other  sort  of  work  on  the  mission  field 
beside  distinctly  evangelistic  work? 

Yes.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
conducts  hospitals,  dispensaries,  common 
schools,  industrial  schools,  and  schools  of 
higher  learning. 

Why  does  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
conduct  hospitals  and  dispensaries? 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  conducts 
hospitals  and  dispensaries  because  in  many 
foreign  fields  there  are  no  trained  native  doc¬ 
tors  and  because  people  are  dying  by  thou¬ 
sands  from  preventable  causes  and  suffering 
much  unnecessary  misery. 

LESSON  VII 

Does  the  medical  work  help  the  evangelistic 
work  in  any  way? 

Yes.  Christian  doctors  have  been  able  to 
gain  the  confidence  of  many  natives  who 
could  never  otherwise  have  been  reached  by 
the  Christian  message. 

Why  is  it  necessary  to  establish  schools? 

It  is  necessary  to  establish  schools  that  peo¬ 
ple  may  be  taught  to  read  the  Bible  and  other 
Christian  books  in  order  that  education  may 
drive  out  ignorance  and  superstition  and  a 
permanent  Christian  civilization  thus  be 
established. 

For  how  many  people  is  the  Methodist  Epis^ 
copal  Church  directly  responsible? 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  directly 
responsible  for  the  evangelization  of  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  million  people. 

What  important  event  in  the  history  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  occurred  in  1843 
to  affect  the  Missionary  Society  organized  in 
1819? 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  sep¬ 
arated  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

What  was  the  cause  of  this  division? 

The  cause  of  this  division  was  a  difference  of 
opinion  concerning  the  question  of  slavery. 

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Did  this  division  seriously  affect  the  work 
of  the  northern  Missionary  Board? 

This  division  at  first  sadly  crippled  the  work 
of  the  northern  Board,  both  in  men  and 
money. 

When  was  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  organized,  and  what  does  it  do? 

The  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
was  organized  in  1869  and  works  for  women 
in  the  same  fields  as  does  the  Board  of  For¬ 
eign  Missions. 

When  was  the  Woman’s  Home  Missionary 
Society  organized,  and  what  does  it  do? 

The  Woman’s  Home  Missionary  Society 
was  organized  in  1880.  The  most  conspicu¬ 
ous  feature  of  its  work  has  been  education, 
particularly  among  the  Negroes,  the  moun¬ 
tain  whites  along  the  Mexican  border,  among 
the  Indians,  the  Mexicans,  the  Orientals,  and 
the  natives  of  Alaska  and  Porto  Rico. 

Where  does  the  Board  of  Home  Missions 
and  Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist  Epis¬ 
copal  Church  do  its  work? 

The  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 
Extension  is  at  work  in  all  the  states  of  the 
Union,  together  with  Alaska,  Porto  Rico  and 
Hawaii. 

What  does  the  Board  of  Home  Missions 
and  Church  Extension  do? 

The  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 
Extension  sends  out  home  missionaries,  or¬ 
ganizes  new  churches,  helps  to  construct  new 
church  buildings,  to  remodel  old  buildings 
and  to  build  parsonages.  It  aids  needy  fields, 
trains  home  missionary  leaders  and  endeav¬ 
ors  to  educate  the  home  church  concerning 
the  needs  in  America. 

LESSON  VIII 

Into  what  parts  is  the  work  of  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  di¬ 
vided? 

Some  of  the  important  divisions  of  the 
work  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension  are  the  following:  the 
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76.  Question: 


rural  work,  the  city  work,  the  frontier  work, 
the  industrial  work,  the  work  among  immi¬ 
grant  peoples  and  the  work  among  special 
groups,  such  as  the  Indians,  the  Negroes,  the 
Highlanders  of  the  South,  the  Mormons,  and 
the  natives  of  Alaska,  Porto  Rico,  and 
Hawaii. 

What  are  some  of  the  facts  concerning  the 
relation  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
to  the  rural  field? 

One  half  the  people  of  the  United  States  live 
in  the  rural  regions,  but  87  per  cent  of 
Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  are  rural. 
The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  therefore, 
faces  a  very  large  rural  responsibility. 

Are  there  boys  and  girls  in  the  United  States 
who  do  not  have  the  opportunity  to  come  to 
church  and  Sunday  School? 

There  are  thousands  of  boys  and  girls  in  our 
own  land  who  cannot  go  to  church  or  Sun¬ 
day  School  because  there  are  no  Sunday 
Schools  or  churches  near  enough  for  them  to 
attend. 

What  are  some  of  the  needs  of  our  great 
cities? 

Our  great  cities  need  Christianity.  They 
have  been  growing  rapidly  in  size  while  in 
some  of  the  most  congested  sections  churches 
have  been  moving  away.  The  plans  of  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Exten¬ 
sion  include  the  aiding  of  churches  in  needy 
city  fields,  where  otherwise  the  Church  would 
be  forced  to  close  its  doors. 

Is  there  much  work  to  be  done  for  the 
Negroes  in  the  United  States? 

There  are  more  than  ten  million  Negroes  in 
the  United  States  and  they  are  becoming 
scattered  all  over  the  country.  There  is 
much  work  to  be  done  for  them  if  they  are 
to  be  trained  in  Christian  living  and  made  a 
blessing  instead  of  a  menace  to  the  com¬ 
munities  in  which  they  are  living. 

What  other  important  home  mission  needs 
are  being  met  by  the  Board  of  Home  Mis¬ 
sions  and  Church  Extension? 

11 


Answer: 


77.  Question: 


Answer: 


78.  Question: 


Answer: 


79.  Question : 
Answer: 


80.  Question: 


Answer: 


A  large  work  for  the  immigrants  who  come 
to  our  shore  is  carried  on  by  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension. 
Work  is  also  done  among  numerous  other 
special  groups  such  as  the  three  million 
Highlanders  of  the  South  and  three  hundred 
thousand  Indians  to  be  found  mainly  in  our 
great  West,  the  four  hundred  thousand  Mor¬ 
mons  of  the  West  and  numerous  other 
groups. 

Why  is  home  mission  work  particularly  im¬ 
portant? 

Home  mission  work  is  particularly  important 
because  Christianity  is  on  trial  in  America 
and  the  things  which  we  do  speak  louder 
oftentimes  than  the  things  which  our  mis¬ 
sionaries  on  the  foreign  field  say. 

Is  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 
Extension  attempting  to  train  leaders  who 
will  understand  how  to  do  their  work  effi¬ 
ciently? 

The  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 
Extension  holds  institutes  and  various  gath¬ 
erings  for  ministers  already  in  service,  in 
order  that  they  may  be  trained  in  the  best 
ways  of  doing  Christian  work  in  America.  It 
also  cooperates  in  the  training  of  Methodist 
young  men  and  young  women  in  colleges  and 
state  universities  in  order  that  strong  leaders 
may  be  raised  up  for  the  Christian  Church. 

What  is  the  purpose  of  the  Centenary? 

The  purpose  of  the  Centenary  is  to  lead  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  undertake 
seriously  that  part  of  the  evangelization  of 
the  world  for  which  it  is  primarily  respon¬ 
sible. 

In  what  respect  does  this  celebration  differ 
from  most  celebrations? 

The  Centenary  celebration  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  differs  from  most  celebra¬ 
tions  in  that  the  attention  of  the  Church  is 
fixed  chiefly  on  the  future  instead  of  on  the 
past. 


12 


81.  Question: 
Answer : 

82.  Question : 
Answer : 

83.  Question: 
Answer: 

84.  Question : 

Answer : 

85.  Question: 
Answer : 

86.  Question: 
Answer : 


LESSON  IX 

Who  first  ordered  the  celebration  of  the  Cen¬ 
tenary  of  Methodist  Missions? 

The  celebration  of  a  Centenary  of  Methodist 
Missions  was  ordered  by  the  General  Confer¬ 
ence  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
which  met  at  Saratoga  Springs,  New  York, 
in  1916. 

What  groups  within  the  Church  have  since 
formally  approved  the  plan? 

The  plan  for  the  celebration  of  the  Methodist 
Missionary  Centenary  has  since  been  for¬ 
mally  approved  by  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions,  the  Board,  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension,  the  Board  of  Sunday 
Schools,  the  Board  of  Bishops,  and  various 
other  bodies  within  the  Church. 

What  are  some  of  the  definite  elements  in 
the  Centenary  program? 

The  Centenary  program  includes  the  raising 
of  eighty  million  dollars  for  missions  in  the 
next  five  years,  the  enlisting  of  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  Methodists  in  the  Fellowship 
of  Intercession,  the  securing  of  many  new  re¬ 
cruits  for  missionary  work  and  the  promotion 
of  the  practice  of  Christian  Stewardship. 

How  did  the  sum  of  eighty  million  dollars 
come  to  be  fixed  as  the  Centenary  financial 
goal? 

The  sum  of  eighty  million  dollars  was  deter¬ 
mined  upon  after  the  most  careful  survey  of 
actual  needs  on  the  home  and  foreign  mis¬ 
sion  fields. 

Is  this  eighty  million  dollars  over  and  above 
what  the  Church  is  now  giving  to  missions? 

No.  The  eighty  million  dollars  includes  the 
present  missionary  giving. 

What  is  to  be  the  culmination  of  the  Cen¬ 
tenary  celebration? 

The  culmination  of  the  Centenary  celebra¬ 
tion  is  to  be  a  nation-wide  gathering  of 
Methodists  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  June  22  to 
July  7,  1919.  In  this  gathering,  the  Metho- 

13 


87.  Question : 
Answer : 


88.  Question: 
Answer : 

89.  Question: 
Answer : 


90.  Question: 

Answer : 


91.  Question: 

Answer : 


dist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  the  Canadian 
Methodist  Church  and  other  Methodist 
bodies  will  share. 

What  is  the  relation  of  the  Sunday  School 
to  the  Centenary? 

The  Sunday  School  has  taken  over  the  rais¬ 
ing  of  ten  million  dollars  of  the  eighty  mil¬ 
lion  included  in  the  Centenary  goal  and  it  is 
sharing  also  in  all  of  the  other  phases  of  the 
Centenary  program. 

How  is  this  money  to  be  raised  in  the  Sunday 
School? 

This  ten  million  dollars  is  to  be  raised 
through  free-will  offerings  from  Methodist 
Sunday  School  pupils. 

What  is  the  approved  plan  for  a  local  school 
for  raising  its  share  of  the  Centenary  funds? 

The  plan  suggested  for  raising  the  Centenary 
funds  in  the  Sunday  School  provides  for  a 
weekly  missionary  offering  in  the  local  school 
in  which  every  pupil  of  the  Sunday  School 
shares.  For  this  offering  a  special  Centenary 
envelope  has  been  provided. 

What  educational  material  is  prepared  by 
The  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  for  use  in  the 
Sunday  School  during  the  Centenary? 

The  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  has  prepared 
monthly  graded  missionary  programs,  leaf¬ 
lets,  text  books,  pictures,  posters  and  various 
other  publications  for  use  in  the  Sunday 
School  during  the  Centenary  years. 

LESSON  X 

What  programs  are  available  and  how  much 
do  they  cost? 

Four  pamphlets  of  programs  are  available, 
as  follows:  one  for  Young  People’s  and 
Adult  Departments,  one  for  Intermediate 
and  Senior  Departments,  one  for  Junior  De¬ 
partments,  and  one  for  Primary  and  Begin¬ 
ners’  Departments. 

The  pamphlets  may  be  secured  from  The 
Board  of  Sunday  Schools  for  5  cents  each. 

14 


92.  Question:  Is  there  any  material  to  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Sunday  School  pupils? 

Answer:  Four  graded  leaflets  have  been  prepared  and 

these  will  be  sent  in  quantities,  free,  to  Sun¬ 
day  Schools  making  request  and  reporting 
the  number  of  pupils  in  the  various  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  school.  There  are  also  books 
and  other  material  available  for  all  ages. 


93.  Question : 


Answer: 


94.  Question : 


Answer: 


95.  Question: 

Answer: 


How  many  missionary  recruits  will  be  neces¬ 
sary  to  carry  out  the  enlarged  work  of  the 
Church  as  planned  by  the  Centenary? 

The  carrying  out  of  the  Centenary  World 
Program  will  require  during  the  next  four 
years,  five  hundred  and  twenty-five  annual 
recruits  for  foreign  mission  work,  at  least  an 
equal  number  for  home  mission  service  and 
ten  thousand  annual  recruits  for  special  train¬ 
ing  in  local  church  administration. 

Who  is  responsible  for  seeing  that  the  Cen¬ 
tenary  plans  are  put  into  operation  in  the 
local  school? 

The  Sunday  School  superintendent  and  the 
missionary  superintendent  are  responsible 
for  the  success  of  the  Centenary  plans  in  the 
local  Sunday  School. 

What  are  some  of  the  essential  elements  of 
this  plan  for  the  Sunday  School? 

Some  of  the  essential  elements  in  this  Cen¬ 
tenary  plan  for  the  Sunday  School  are  the 
appointment  of  a  missionary  superintendent 
and  committee  for  the  local  Sunday  School, 
the  formal  adoption  by  the  local  Sunday 
School  Board  of  the  Centenary  plan  and  of  a 
Centenary  allotment,  the  regular  use  of  the 
graded  missionary  programs,  an  every-mem- 
ber  canvass  for  missions  within  the  school, 
the  development  of  the  habit  of  prayer  for 
missions  among  the  pupils  and  the  training 
in  service  of  the  boys  and  girls  in  the  Sunday 
School. 


96.  Question:  Is  it  too  much  to  expect  that  Methodist 
Sunday  School  pupils  will  contribute  two 
million  dollars  per  year  to  missions? 

Answer:  Two  million  dollars  per  year  for  missions  is 

not  too  much  to  expect  from  Methodist  Sun¬ 
day  School  pupils,  for  there  are  so  many 

15 


pupils  that  if  each  one  gave  one  cent  per 
week  the  total  for  the  year  would  exceed  two 
million  dollars. 


97.  Question:  To  what  agencies  does  the  missionary  money 
given  in  the  Sunday  School  go? 

Answer:  The  missionary  money  given  in  the  Sunday 

School  is  divided  as  follows: 

45%  for  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
45%  for  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and 
Church  Extension 

10%  for  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools. 


98.  Question:  Is  it  expected  that  the  boys  and  girls  will 
limit  their  missionary  giving  to  one  cent  per 
week? 

Answer:  No.  There  will  be  some  who  will  not  give 

their  proportion,  small  though  that  propor¬ 
tion  may  be,  for  the  missionary  work  of  the 
Church,  and  some  pupils  must,  therefore, 
give  much  more  than  one  cent  per  week  if 
the  two  million  dollars  is  to  be  raised. 


99.  Question :  When  will  those  who  are  responsible  for  the 
Centenary  plans  in  the  Sunday  School  be  sat¬ 
isfied? 

Answer:  Those  who  are  responsible  for  the  Centenary 

plans  in  the  Sunday  School  will  be  satisfied 
only  when  every  pupil  in  every  Methodist 
Sunday  School  is  learning  something  about 
missions  each  week,  is  praying  regularly  for 
missions  and  missionaries,  is  engaging  in 
some  sort  of  service  in  the  community  in 
which  he  lives  and  is  giving  regularly  each 
week  to  the  world-wide  work  of  the  Church. 


100.  Question:  What  will  be  the  reward  of  those  who  take 
part  in  this  program? 

Answer:  The  reward  of  those  who  take  part  in  this 

program  will  be  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  they  are  having  a  share  in  a  program 
which  reaches  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and 
which  is  carrying  hope  and  joy  and  freedom 
and  opportunity  to  many  who  live  in  our  own 
land  and  in  far  distant  lands  and  who,  to-day, 
do  not  have  a  fair  chance  at  the  good  things 
of  life. 


16 


